Kat and the Kids: The Kat from Outer Space
by iheartkatamari
Summary: A collab made by brave kid and me. A reimagining of the first episode of the series, in which Kat is a good guy who journeys to a distant planet to find a news story, but ends up landing on Earth by accident, where he's adopted by the Burtonburger family.
1. In a Galaxy Far Away

**This is a collab that brave kid and I worked on a little while ago(He had the initial idea and I wrote the script) which is the first in a series he and I will be working together on in the future. Please enjoy!(BTW brave kid, thank you very much for this story suggestion. I had a lot of fun working on this story with you, and I very much appreciate it. I look forward to writing future stories with you.) :)**

In a galaxy far away there sits a planet called the Cat Nebula, which is inhabited by a peaceful group of aliens who very much resemble hairless cats. One such, whom our story concerns, is an interplanetary reporter by the name of Zoran. Zoran had enjoyed his job, but lately there had been a steady decrease in newsworthy events. As he sits at his desk, typing away at an article, Zoran breathes deeply and lets out a hearty sigh. _Nothing interesting seems to happen around here anymore_. he thinks. _Oh, to be able to visit a new planet!_

Just then, his boss calls over the P.A. system, "Oh, Zoran, I'd like to see you in my office, please." Zoran gives a small gulp, anticipating bad news, but reluctantly makes his way to the boss' room. Upon entering the room, the boss addresses him, "Zoran, I have a very important task for you."

"Yes, sir?" he replies curiously.

"Well, it's come to my attention that our paper is in desperate need of new material. As such, I'm assigning you a reporting job on the distant planet of Krygorr-5."

Zoran's eyes light up. Oh, how long he had waited for an opportunity like this! "Oh, thank you so very much, sir!" he replies excitedly. "This sounds so very intriguing!'

"I'll need for you to be ready by noon." the boss replies.

"Certainly, sir. I shall be ready soon." Zoran replies.

After packing his suitcases and bidding his family a kind goodbye, Zoran hops into his spaceship and begins his journey. Little did he know, unfortunately, that things weren't to remain smooth sailing for long, because hiding around a nearby corner was Eeks, an evil hamster alien from another planet. Upon hearing the news, he begins to schemingly rub his paws together. "So, Zowan's been offered a reporting job on Kwygorr-5, eh? How vewwy intewesting!"

Eeks was a rival reporter who had often resorted to dirty tricks to get his stories. He and his kind hated the cat people and would do anything they could to get the better of them. The evil hamster hops into his own spaceship and takes off after Zoran's retreating vehicle. "That Zowan's gonna be in for quite a supwise!" He punctuates his sentence with a nasty laugh.


	2. A Pretty Planet called Earth

As Zoran travels through space, he suddenly hears a _CLUNK_ from his spaceship's engine. "Uh oh," he muses. "Something is very wrong..." Before he can contemplate this further, smoke begin pouring from his engine, then his spaceship grinds to a halt and begins falling out of the sky! "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" he cries as his ship plummets downward toward a lush blue and green planet.

From his ship, Eeks looks on at this and scowls. "Dwats, Zowan's gotten away fwom me! Well, not for long." He then shifts his vehicle into high gear and follows after the rapidly descending rocket.

Zoran's ship fortunately lands softly in a patch of bushes. "Well, this was quite fortunate." he notes as he carefully disembarks the ship to survey the damage. "Hmm, it seems that the engine's gotten overheated. Perhaps there's a repair shop nearby?" He then begins to traipse off to find the parts he needs for repair. Suddenly, a baseball rolls by and hits him squarely in his pink nose. "Oof!" The space cat rubs his sore nose, then picks up the item and looks at it quizzically. "Gracious, what a strange object."

Just then, he hears a voice mumbling, "Rats, where'd that pesky baseball go? Why can't Millie be more careful, for gosh sakes? Ooh, there goes my shoe!" Peeking from his leafy hiding place Zoran suddenly observes a being like none he'd ever seen before advancing toward him. The being is of small stature, with messy brown hair atop his head, and wearing a red shirt with a big orange stripe around the middle, blue jeans, a black shoe on one foot and an orange and yellow sock on the other. _Hmm_, the space cat thinks as he looks on with immense interest. _This appears to be one of those humans I've heard so much about, which means...this must be planet Earth! _A wide smile spreads across his face. 'Ooh, how exciting!' he thinks. 'I've wished to visit this pretty planet and learn more about it for ever so long!'

As the boy draws close to the bush, Zoran pops the baseball out of the bush at his feet. "Ah, there you are." The boy, not questioning who or what might have returned the baseball to him, hops over to it on his shoe-clad foot and picks it up. Zoran's curiosity is beginning to well and truly overwhelm him at this point; he sticks his head out of the bush, coming nose-to-nose with the boy. "Huh?" the boy says as he slowly glances up. As he comes face to face with the creature before him, he and Zoran both scream, "AAAAAAAAAH!" upon which the boy dashes away.

The space cat ducks back into the bush. "Wh-wh-what happened?" he says to no one in particular. Hearing the boy yelling, "Dad! Evil! Hairless creature! Squirrel! Purple! HELP!" Zoran peeks with concern from his hiding place. "Goodness," he says dolefully. "I wish I hadn't frightened him so..." He watches as the boy runs up to a tall man with black hair, wearing a blue button-down shirt with a collar, brown pants, darker brown shoes, and a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and a small girl with wavy black hair in a ponytail, wearing a light and dark aqua green jumper with a daisy on the front, pink socks, brown shoes, red-rimmed glasses, and a big pink bow in her hair.

"Now, calm down, Coop," the man says. "What's wrong? And what happened to your shoe?"

"And where's the ball?" the girl inquires indignantly.

"E-evil...bald...sewer rat with beady black eyes!" the boy, Coop, stammers frantically as he motions toward the woods. The man stares at him in perplexity as the girl makes her way toward the bush. As she draws near, Zoran freezes where he stands, unsure of what's about to happen next. As soon as she lays eyes on him, the girl lets out a piercing scream that causes the space cat to almost leap a mile into the air. The man and boy shudder with fear. "Millie!" The man exclaims. "I-it must have gotten her!" Coop stammers.

Zoran looks on in shock as the girl, Millie, scoops him up and carries him away. "Daddy! Coop! Look, look at what I found!" She then presents the space cat to her family, who scream in shock and leap into the air. A sad look crosses Zoran's face. _Oh dear, I so wish that I wouldn't keep scaring people._ he thinks.

"Isn't he just the cutest kitty in the whole entire WORLD?!" Millie gushes. Coop looks on incredulously. "That's a cat?"

"Oh, can I keep him, Daddy? Oh, can I, can I, can I, PLEEEEEEEEASE?" Millie begs, giving puppy dog eyes.

"No, Millie, don't!" Coop exclaims urgently. "There's something strange about that cat!"

Noticing Zoran's collar, the father replies, "Mmn, he's got a collar. He must belong to someone. I'm sorry, Honey, but we can't keep him, her or...it. We'll need to find the owner."

Tears begin to well up in the little girls eyes, upon which she lets out another shockingly loud scream, which causes everyone to wince and hold their ears. "All right, all right," the father replies urgently. "If we can't find his owner, we'll keep him!" Millie then stops screaming and brightens. "Thanks, Daddy!" she says gleefully as she begins to skip away. Zoran breathes a small sigh of relief, silently glad that this episode was over, for however brief a period of time.

As Millie passes by Coop, she holds the baseball out to him. "And here's your ball." Before Coop can take it, however, she quickly kicks it into the next yard. A frown crosses Zoran's face. _That was so mean._ he thinks.

Coop gasps audibly and begins running toward the yard, upon which his dad quickly holds him back. "Don't even think about it, son!" he warns him urgently.

"But what about my ball? I gotta get it back!"

"It's not safe, son. Whatever-or whoever-enters Old Lady Muson's yard is never seen again, and I really don't feel like dealing with her today." his father replies as he then begins to leave. Spotting a large, foreboding looking shadow peering from the window of the house next door, Coop gives an audible shudder, then runs to join his dad.

Peering up from his place in Millie's arms, Zoran thinks, _Now, this simply isn't right! Justice will certainly need to be done here._ While Millie isn't looking, he slowly slips out of her arms and quietly makes his way toward Old Lady Munson's yard. He pries up a loose board in the fence and, quickly spotting the baseball next to a small cluster of lawn gnomes, tiptoes over and snatches it up. As he begins to leave, however, he hears footsteps behind him and turns to see Mrs. Munson's little dog Growler approaching him.

"What a fascinating creature." Zoran muses. He quickly picks up his camera and snaps a picture of the dog; a scowl crosses Growler's face and he begins snarling. The space cat's eyes grow large and he begins sweating and shivering. "Uh oh..." Zoran quickly takes to his heels with Growler in hot pursuit; as he squeezes through the loose fence board, Zoran quickly pushes it back into place, causing Growler to slam into it. _WHAM!_ The space cat breathes a sigh of relief and mops his brow. "Pfew, that was certainly close."

As he spots Coop leaving, Zoran quickly hurries up to him with the baseball in his mouth and gives a muffled. "Meowmph." Hearing the sound, a curious Coop peeks over his shoulder and sees the space cat standing behind him, upon which the boy gives another loud scream, "AAAAAAAHHH!" Upon noticing the baseball in Zoran's mouth, Coop then quickly changes his tune. "Hey, you found my baseball!" He gently takes the ball from the space cat and gently(Albeit apprehensively) pets him on the head. "Good kitty! Thank you." Zoran feels quite good to have made Coop happy, but is sad to have frightened him again. He silently wonders if this is how he appears to everyone.


	3. Has Anybody Seen This Kat?

Upon arriving back home moments later, Millie dresses an apprehensively squirming Zoran in a baby bonnet. "Hold still, kitty...There! Don't you look precious?" Zoran's purple face turns bright red as she gently seats him in front of a table lined with dishes. Millie opens a can of cat food and dumps it into the dish in front of him. "You must be so hungry. Here y'go!"

_Strange_, the space cat thinks, looking the table in front of him over. _There's no silverware or napkins. Perchance this might be finger food? _He takes a pawful of the food and pops it into his mouth. As the delicious flavor engulfs his mouth, a blissful look crosses Zoran's face. _My, what a DELECTABLE taste! I simply must get the recipe to share with everyone back home!_

At this moment, Coop enters the room, wearily lugging a large armful of papers. "I've made enough posters to cover the whole neighborhood; we'll be sure to find his owner right away." Millie turns casually to her brother. "Oh, by the way, Coop, I've decided to name him Mr. Kat." Upon hearing this, a curious look crosses Zoran's face. _Hmm, Mr. Kat...I think I like it!_ His lips then curl into a smile. Coop, however, was not quite as enamored. "Mr. Kat? That's not a name!" Noticing the disapproving look on his sister's face, the boy quickly amends this. "Uhm, what I meant to say was, that's not a name...in Mozambique! Yeah."

Now noticing the heavy load Coop is holding, Millie curiously inquires, "Say, Coop, what're all those papers for?" Coop replies, "I've made a bunch of posters to put around the neighborhood so we can find Mr. Kat's owner." He then holds up one of the aforementioned to show her.

"But if his owner doesn't want him, we can keep him, right?" Millie replies.

"Well, maybe so, but for now we'll need to find them." Coop replies.

"Well, maybe Mr. Kat and I could help." Millie offers.

"Uhm..." Coop hesitates, clearly contemplating that Millie's help might cause things to go awry. "..Sure." he finally replies, hoping for the best.

"Goodie!" the little girl exclaims, excitedly hopping up. She quickly gathers up Zoran, now Mr. Kat, places him in a doll's baby buggy, and begins pushing the buggy through the door at top speed, knocking Coop over and scattering the posters. Kat looks on angrily at this display, silently contemplating how mean Millie was. Similarly, he was also feeling very bad for Coop and wished to get to know him better. If only he wouldn't keep frightening Coop so...

Coop traipses throughout the neighborhood, putting posters on everything from telephone poles to fences to trees to even houses! "There," he breathes, dusting off his hands. "Now we'll find Kat's owner in no time!" Little does he notice, however, that a merrily humming Millie has been following him, tearing down as many posters as she can.(Fortunately, however, she isn't able to get them all.)

Moments later, Coop is sitting in the living room, watching his favorite TV show Captain Blasteroid, when the doorbell rings. "I'll get it!" The boy excitedly runs to the door and opens it to see a little girl with long brown hair, holding up one of his posters. "Uhm, excuse me please," she shyly addresses him. "Did you find my kitty?"

"Uh huh." Coop replies as Millie traipses toward the door with Kat in her arms, then holds him up for the girl to see. Upon looking at the space cat, the girl shrieks and runs away. Kat stares sadly into the distance as she leaves, silently wishing that he weren't so frightening. Coop blushes, "Oops, guess she...wasn't the one." No sooner do he and Millie go back inside, however, when the doorbell rings again.

Unfortunately, it soon turns out to be the same story with every potential owner. Upon seeing Kat, each person screams, cries, runs away, and occasionally faints. Coop dolefully closes the door. "Too bad. So sad." a triumphant Millie says as she begins to leave.

Just then, the doorbell rings again; Coop opens the door to a large elderly man with grey hair and a matching mustache, wearing glasses. "You found a cat?" he inquires gruffly, holding up the poster. "My dog is hungry." He motions toward a small, fierce looking bulldog with sharp teeth, standing at his feet. The dog licks his lips hungrily. A concerned look crosses the little boy's face. He really didn't like the looks of this! "Uhm, I'm sorry, sir, but we haven't found a cat. Thank you for coming, though."

The man's eyebrows narrow. "Look kid, I found a poster advertising a cat being found, and I'm not leaving until I get it!" The dog hops up on his hind legs and quickly dons a bib, licking his lips some more. As Coop's mind races for what to say next, a curious Kat peeks his head around the corner. Upon seeing him, the dogs eyes grow large and he quickly takes to his heels, squealing in terror. "Huh?" the man looks up and quickly sees Kat too. "AHHHHHHH!" the man then quickly runs off after the dog. "Wait for me, Bobo!"

Grateful that Kat had gotten rid of these very unpleasant customers, Coop reaches a trembling hand out and gently pats him on the head. "Well," the little boy sighs to himself. "I guess we'll have to try again tomorrow." He then traipses back inside the house with Kat following close behind.


	4. An Alien in Our House

As Coop slumbers in his bed that night, Kat tiptoes into his room ever so quietly and gently hops up on the foot of his bed. "What fascinating sleep patterns these humans have." he whispers as he quietly takes out an alien tablet to study this further. Just then, Coop cracks one eye open. "H-huhh?" he drowsily mumbles. Becoming aware of the creature standing in front of him, the little boy's eye pop wide open and he gives a loud scream. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"Please, hush!" Kat shushes him urgently. "We mustn't wake your family." Upon hearing Kat speak, Coop stares in perplexity. "Wait a second...you can talk?"

"Yes, my dear boy," Kat replies. "Please don't be afraid, I mean you no harm."

"I wish I could believe you, but-YOU'RE POINTING A WEAPON AT ME!" Coop shrieks, ducking his head down under the covers.

"Weapon?" The space cat laughs. "Oh ho ho, oh, goodness, no, my dear boy, this is not a weapon!"

Coop peeks out of the covers. "It isn't?"

"Why no," Kat replies politely. "This is merely a tablet. You see, I've come from another galaxy to study this lovely planet of yours and its inhabitants."

Coop's eyes grow large. "Another galaxy? Why...this means...YOU'RE AN ALIEN!"

"Uhm, well," Kat replies under his breath. "I suppose..."

"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh," Coop exclaims excitedly. "I always knew aliens were real, but now I've got proof positive! Wow, wait'll the guys at school hear that we've got a REAL LIVE ALIEN living in our house!"

"Uhm," Kat muses. "I mean no offense, lad, but I would appreciate if you wouldn't tell anyone else about me as of yet."

Perplexed, Coop replies, "Why not?"

"Well, you see, your planet's inhabitants might not be quite as understanding of creatures like myself; they often try to capture us and experiment on us." Kat replies.

"Ooh." Coop replies, finally understanding. A wistful look then crosses his face. "Well say, perhaps I could just tell my friends about you? They're very trustworthy and I know that if we ask them to keep your identity a secret, they'll understand."

Kat muses on this for all of a moment. While he was quite interested in meeting Coop's friends he was also concerned that he might frighten them away, recalling the reception he'd gotten from the people at the door. But, might they...be afraid of me? I really wouldn't like to scare anyone away again."

"Don't worry, Kat," Coop replies reassuringly as he gently pets the space cat's head. "I'm sure that they'll think you're cool." Kat breathes a small, contented sigh, already feeling much more confident.

From behind a nearby closet door, Eeks, who had sneaked into the house, sight unseen, peeks out. "So, that little human's going to tell others about Zowan? Well, we'll just see about that!" The evil hamster punctuates his sentence with a small chuckle. Upon reentering the closet, Eeks sits in front of a small movie projector, splicing together videos he'd been making of Kat, sight unseen. As images of people screaming and running away flash on the screen, the evil hamster's lips curl into a nasty grin. "Now when Zowan's boss sees these videos, he'll think that misewwable space cat has been tewwowizing the people of Earth! He'll be fired and exiled to a distant pwanet!" He punctuates his sentence with a nasty laugh.


	5. The Way of the Earth Cat

The next day, Coop brings Kat to the park. "There they are," Coop whispers excitedly, motioning toward a boy with black hair, playing with a yoyo, and a girl with long blonde hair, dribbling a soccer ball on her knee. "These are my friends Dennis and Fiona. They'll love to meet you!"

"Mmn," a still very unsure Kat muses. "I certainly hope so."

As Coop approaches his friends, he happily waves and calls, "Hi, guys!" Upon this, Dennis and Fiona quickly stop what they're doing and reply, "Hi, Coop!" politely waving in reply.

"Guys," Coop says. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." He steps to one side, revealing Kat standing behind him. "Hello, friends." Kat says, waving politely. "Very pleased to meet you."

Dennis and Fiona stare in amazement. "Wow," an impressed Fiona says. "I've never seen anything like him!"

"How did he learn to talk?" Dennis inquires.

"Well, you see," Coop explains. "Mr. Kat, here, is no ordinary cat. He's a reporter from another galaxy who's come here to study Earth."

"Quite a nice planet it is indeed, I must say." Kat adds politely.

Dennis and Fiona then exchange excited glances. "Ohmigosh, a REAL LIVE ALIEN!" Fiona exclaims. "I always knew they were real!" Dennis adds. "Wow, wait'll the guys at school hear about this!"

"Uhm, I mean no offense," Coop replies hesitantly. "But Kat's requested that we please keep this a secret."

"You see," Kat notes. "Some people often try to capture and experiment on my kind."

"Well, don't worry, Kat," Fiona replies consolingly. "Your secret will always be safe with us."

"Indeed." Dennis obliges. Kat politely shakes the boy and girl's hands. "Oh, thank you both very much. This means so much to me!"

"You're quite welcome," Dennis replies. "And if there's any way we can assist you with your studies, we'll be happy to help." A thoughtful look then crosses Fiona's face. "In fact...I might know a way to keep your secret safe! Follow me, please."

Once they reach Fiona's house, the four gather in Fiona's back yard. "Meow." Coop says. Attempting to copy this action, Kat echoes, "Meow." Coop replies, "Very good!"

Dennis then brings in a dish of cat food and sets it on the ground. "Ahh, this seems to be some of the finger food I tried back at Coop's house." Kat notes as he quickly picks up a pawful of it.

"No, Kat," Coop says. "You need to sit on the floor to eat it." Kat then obligingly sits down and eats a mouthful of the food. This took a bit of getting used to, but he was sure that he'd get the hang of it soon.

Fiona then hands Kat a ball of yarn. "Hmm, what might this be?" he inquires curiously. "A ball of yarn," Fiona replies. "You can play with it by tossing it to yourself." Kat practices tossing the ball of yarn between his left and right paws, then tries tossing it in the air and catching it, then tries lying on his back and juggling it with his feet. "Say," he says merrily. "This is quite fun!"

Dennis then picks up a small laser pointer toy and shines a red light on the ground. "Ooh, how fascinating!" a very intrigued Kat notes. "What might this device be?"

"It's a laser pointer." Dennis replies. "Cats love to chase the red light."

Eager to try it out, Kat runs after and pounces on the red light as Dennis moves it across the ground. "Ooh, this is quite fun!" he says excitedly. "I simply must tell everyone back home of the wonderful things Earth cats enjoy!"

Finally, Coop takes a leather leash and gently straps it to Kat's collar. "Hmm, now what might this item be?" Kat inquires. "A leash." Coop replies. "Cats and dogs wear them when they go outside so they don't get lost. Would you like to try walking with it on for a bit?"

"Yes, please." Kat obliges, upon which Coop gently takes the leash. Kat then drops down on all fours, and he and Coop begin walking back and forth around the yard for a bit. "Say," the space cat notes. "I think that I may be getting the hang of this! Thank you all very much for your help."

"You're very much welcome," the kids reply. "Anything to help a friend."

Just then, the group hears a car pulling into the driveway and see a tall elderly woman with glasses, carrying the small dog from earlier under her arm, climbing out. The lady stops and sniffs the air. "Hmm, what's that smell? Sniff, sniff. It smells like...Sniff, sniff...it smells like...BURTONBURGER!" Upon hearing the yell, Fiona gasps, "Oh no, Auntie Munson is home! And it sounds like she's in an especially bad mood!" She quickly turns to her friends. "You'd better hide, fast!"

"Sure thing, Fiona." Coop, Dennis, and Kat oblige, upon which they quickly hurry toward the fence surrounding the yard, scramble over it, then slowly climb to the ground on the other side, panting and gasping for breath. "Boy," Dennis wheezes. "That was a close one."

Back in the yard, Old Lady Munson slowly approaches her niece and inquires, "Fiona, have you been visiting with that Burtonburger boy again?" Fiona stammers in reply, "T-there must be a mistake, Auntie Munson, he hasn't set foot in your yard all day." Mrs. Munson replies skeptically, "But I thought sure I smelled him coming in." Fiona replies, "I'm sure it's just your imagination, Auntie Munson. Please don't be concerned."

"Huh," Mrs. Munson mumbles as she slowly traipses away. "I was positive I smelled him. Ahh well, it could've been anything..." As Mrs. Munson leaves, Fiona breathes a hearty sigh of relief. "Pfew." Once they see that the coast is clear, her friends quickly peek through a loose board in the fence. "Thanks for saving us, Fiona," Coop whispers. "You're a real pal!"

"You're quite welcome, guys," she whispers in reply. "Auntie Munson can be tricky to deal with sometimes!"

"Well say," Dennis whispers. "We don't mean to be rude, but well need to be going home soon."

"Thank you for everything, M'dear." Kat whispers.

"You're quite welcome." Fiona whispers in reply. "'Bye, guys! Please take care!" She waves politely to her friends as they quietly leave.

"'Bye, Fiona! Thank you for all of your help, and please take care, too!" the three whisper and wave in reply.

Little did they know, however, that Eeks had been following them, sight unseen. As he peeks through the loose board in the fence, he quickly spies Old Lady Munson's extensive collection of lawn gnomes; an evil smile spreads across his face.


	6. To Catch a Gnome

Moments later, Mrs. Munson traipses out into the yard, with Growler following close behind. "What do you think, Growler?" she inquires, as she sets a glasses-wearing lawn gnome down next to a red-hatted one holding a lantern, sitting in a circle of rocks. "Perhaps Aloysius would enjoy some sun today." She pauses and muses for all of a second. "No, that won't do. He and Sir Scratchemup had a fight yesterday."

She then picks up the glasses wearing gnome again and begins to carry it across the yard. "Ahh, I know," she notes. "Perhaps he'd like to spend some time with Tom Tu-_GASP_!" Mrs. Munson cuts herself off sharply with an abrupt gasp as she suddenly notices one of her lawn gnomes missing from its spot. She drops to her knees, aghast. "Tom Tuddles is gone!" Curious, Growler traipses over to the spot and sniffs at it, then gives a small bark. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Munson looks down to see a trail of footprints leading away from the spot. Feeling her anger rising, she shout out, "BURRRRTONBURRRRGERRRRR!"

From his hiding place behind a nearby bush, Eeks, who's holding the missing gnome, snickers nastily. "If I pway my cards right, I'll make both that pesky Earth boy and Zowan's lives misewwable!"

As the Burtonburgers sit down to lunch, Burt gets up to get some more milk; as he passes by the back door window, he suddenly notices Mrs. Munson holding Growler, standing outside and nearly jumps out of his skin! "AHHH! OLD LADY MUNSON!"

"I'll get it." Millie says cheerily as she climbs down from her chair. "MILLIE! NOOOOO!" Burt exclaims urgently. Unfortunately, it was too late; Millie had already let Mrs. Munson inside. From his hiding place behind the couch, a concerned Kat gulps apprehensively.

"Your juvenile delinquent son gnome-napped Tom Tuddles!" Old Lady Muson exclaims angrily. Burt replies sternly, "Coop wouldn't do a thing like that!" Motioning to the long trail of sneaker prints outside, Mrs. Munson replies, "I followed his footprints here!" Staring at the trail in perplexity, Burt replies, "But...those are all left feet."

Paying him no mind, Old Lady Munson lifts Growler up, letting him sniff the air. "We'll sniff him out, won't we, Growler?" Growler's only reply is a blank look. Old Lady Munson then begins storming through the halls, calling, "Tom Tuddles! Tom Tuddles, where are you?!"

Watching with concern from his hiding place, Kat hears a series of nasty snickers and whips around to see Eeks, toting the wayward gnome in one paw and a film reel in the other. Kat's eyebrows narrow. "Eeks? What are you doing here?"

"Well, as it just so happens," the evil hamster replies smugly. "I'm going to make things_ MISEWABLE_ for both you and that pesky Eathwing you've befwiended!" He holds up the film reel. "A simple pwocess, once I show your boss this spliced film weel, he'll think you've been tewwowizing Earth, and you'll lose your job for sure!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Kat snarls.

"Just watch me!" Eeks taunts. Angry and fearing for Coop's wellbeing, Kat hisses and pounces at the evil hamster, causing him to squeal and toss the two items in the air; as he quickly catches the items, Eeks begins scampering toward the door. "You haven't heart the wast of me, Zowan! I'll be back, and you and that Earth boy will soon be sowwy!" Kat looks on angrily as the evil hamster leaves. "And we'll be ready for you when you do." he silently mumbles under his breath.

Noticing Old Lady Munson traipsing up the stairs, Kat quickly picks the gnome up in his mouth, grabs the film reel up with his tail, them hurries up the stairs on all fours. He arrives upstairs just in time to see Mrs. Munson bursting through the door of Coop's room. "You've got some explaining to do, you gnome-napper you!" Nothing daunted, Kat scampers up to her and gives a small, muffled, "Meowmph."

"Huh?" Looking down, Old Lady Munson looks down to see the space cat holding the missing gnome in his mouth. "Ughh, what _IS_ that hideous creature?!"

"He's not hideous," Coop, who's siiting at his desk, angrily replies in Kat's defense. "He's our new cat and we love him!" Kat's heart fills with happiness upon hearing these words. Oh, how long he had waited for someone on this planet to accept him and not run away whenever he came by!

Suddenly noticing the gnome in Kat's mouth, Mrs. Munson's anger rises. "So, _YOU'RE_ the gnome-napper! You're in big trouble now, you little pest!" Coop quickly hops down from his chair and hurries over to them. "Kat would never do a thing like that," he replies. "He probably had just found your gnome-"

"Tom Tuddles." Old Lady Munson corrects him.

"Oh, pardon me. He probably had just found Tom Tuddles and wanted to return him to you."

"Well," Mrs. Munson replies, now in slightly(But only slightly!) better spirits than before. "If that _is_ the case, then I much appreciate his kindness." She gently pats Kat on the head and takes the gnome back. "We'd best be going home now. Good bye, Burtonburgers." She and Growler then leave.

"Goodbye, Old La-I mean, _Mrs_. Munson!" Coop and Burt call in reply. Once she's left, Coop and Burt slump to the ground and breathe heavy sighs of relief. Dealing with Old Lady Munson was never easy, especially not in this instance.


	7. It's a Jungle in Here

After Old Lady Munson has left, Coop gently pets Kat on the head. "Thank you so much for helping find that missing gnome!"

"You're quite welcome, lad," Kat replies politely. "I..must say that I certainly appreciate how you and your family and friends have accepted me; all of the other Earthlings I've met have been afraid of me."

"Well, you're quite welcome," Coop notes. A wistful look then crosses his face. "In fact...I think I may have an idea for how my friends and I can help you with your studies! Follow me, please." Coop then traipses downstairs with Kat following closely behind.

Coop, Dennis, and Fiona gather in Dennis' garage moments later, where Kat is speaking into a microphone, making a recording for a video flashing on a large movie projector. As an image of Kat travelling through the park, clad in safari clothes, Kat says, "As I make my way through the jungles of this distant planet, I observe all of the fascinating flora and fauna." On the screen, a butterfly flutters in front of his eyes, upon which he glances up and smiles.

"Unfortunately," he continues. "The jungles were not without their perils as well." On the screen, Kat suddenly steps in something that makes a _SQUISH_, upon which he looks down to see himself sinking into a mud puddle(Made to look like a quicksand pit). (The more I struggled, the more quickly I found myself sinking," Kat notes. "Fortunately, I was able to climb to safety in the nick of time." On the screen, three ropes, made to look like vines, dangle down from above; Kat quickly climbs up the ropes and swings safely back down to the ground, stopping to dust himself off.

"Unfortunately, no sooner had I escaped the quicksand than I found myself in even more danger." Kat notes, as on the screen he's captured by Coop and Dennis wearing tribal masks and jungle clothes. The disguised pair carry Kat into a makeshift jungle palace, made of cardboard boxes. "The natives soon took me to their queen." Kat continues, as on the screen, Coop and Dennis Bring him to Fiona, who's dressed as a jungle queen, and sitting on a lawn chair.

"What shall we do with this intruder, your majesty?" the disguised Coop inquires in a deep voice.

"Take him to...THE JUNGLE GIANT!" Fiona replies forebodingly, waving a makeshift scepter, made of a volleyball glued to a broomstick, in the air. Kat gulps nervously and begins sweating profusely.

"Within moments, I was tied up and presented to the dreaded jungle beast." Kat elaborates, as on the screen, he's shown tied to a small sapling, shaking and sweating in fear. Within moments, Growler, who's wearing a cardboard dinosaur spine on his back, enters the scene, growling and yipping. "It looked as though all hope was lost," Kat continues. "Fortunately, it was at this very moment that I had remembered the Swiss army knife I had brought with me for just such an occasion." On the screen, Kat quickly cuts the ropes with his claws. "Once free, I then attempted to stave off the beast." On the screen, he quickly picks up a rope and a small, plastic chair from Millie's dollhouse and attempts to lion-tame the dog. "Back! Back, you beast! Back!"

"And so ends my report on Earth," Kat concludes. "A very fascinating planet indeed." As Coop turns off the projector and tape recorder, he says excitedly, "Wow, that was a fantastic report, Kat! You were really great!"

Kat smiles modestly. "Why, thank you very much, lad. I appreciate very much the help of you and your friends."

"You're quite welcome." the kids happily reply in unison.

It's at this moment that a long-forgotten notion occurs to Coop. "Ooh, I just forgot," he says with much concern to his voice. "I never told dad whether or not I'd found your owner!"

A sad look crosses Kat's face. "Oh dear, what if he won't let you keep me?" A thoughtful look quickly crosses the little boy's face. "Don't worry, Mr. Kat, I think I may have a plan."


	8. It's Nice to Have a Kat Around the House

As Coop and his family are sitting down to a dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, Burt turns toward Coop and inquires, "So, son, how did it go finding Mr. Kat's owner?"

"Well, you see," Coop notes. "It seems that Mr. Kat's owner...didn't want him back."

A surprised look crosses Burt's face. "Oh wow...Gee..."

"That's okay, Daddy," Millie replies cheerily. "Now Mr. Kat can stay with us!"

Burt then gets a skeptical look in his eye. "I don't know. Are you sure this is a good idea, Honey?"

"Please, Dad?" Coop quickly replies. "He's really a great cat. We both really love him and have been taking very good care of him; he's very helpful around the house, too!"

"Helpful?" a curious Burt echoes.

"Yes," Coop quickly removes a small wind-up mouse from his pocket and winds it up. "For example, he's great at catching mice." He sends the toy skittering across the ground; nothing daunted, Kat quickly rushes after it and pounces on it. "Hmm, very impressive." Burt notes.

"He's also very good at fetching the paper." Coop adds. Upon these words, the space cat quickly dashes off and returns shortly with a rolled-up newspaper in his mouth. "Mmm, very nice." Burt says.

"He's even very good at protecting us and the house." Coop continues. Turning to the space cat, he motions, "Kat, the house is on fire." Upon these words, Kat quickly hops up on a nearby counter, knocks the receiver off of the phone with one paw, touches the buttons with his nose(Being careful not to actually press them) and meows urgently into the receiver.(He did need to remember at the time not to pick up the receiver and speak into it.) "Ooh, wow!" an impressed Burt states.

Endeavoring to further the example, Coop lies down on the ground with his arms and legs outstretched. "Okay, Kat, now I'm choking on a Fudgie-Wudgie bar." That was a mistake. No sooner has Coop said this when Kat takes a diving leap into the air and plunges downward onto Coop's chest with all four paws, almost dislodging, for real, the chicken dinner from moments earlier. "Oof!" the little boy groans.

"Oh, so sorry, lad," a worried Kat dolefully whispers into his ear(In a low enough voice that Burt won't overhear). "I should have been more careful."

"That's okay, Kat," Coop whispers in reply. "All's well."

"Well," Burt states happily as Coop and Kat slowly climb to their feet. "It looks as though Kat will be a very welcome addition to our family. He most certainly can stay."

"Yay!" Coop and Millie both happily cheer. Turning to her brother, Millie says, "But Mr. Kat sleeps in my bed tonight."

"No way," Coop replies indignantly. "He'd much rather sleep in my bed!"

"All right, kids, settle down," Burt notes. "He can sleep in both of your beds on different nights."

"Okay." the kids oblige. Millie whispers in Coop's ear, "But he likes me best." As Millie leaves, Coop and Kat exchange a wink with each other. They knew the truth!

_Aah, what a pleasant experience_, Kat thinks as Coop gently carries him upstairs. _I've finally found a home on this lovely planet and a group of Earthlings who love me, even though I am a little strange._

**THE END.**

Voice Cast

Coop Burtonburger-Erin Matthews

Mr. Kat(Zoran)-Peter New

Millie Burtonburger-Kathleen Barr

Burt Burtonburger-Trevor Devall

Mrs. Muson-Linda Sorenson

Dennis Lawrence Chan-Cathy Weseluck

Fiona-Chiara Zanni

Eeks-Christopher Gaze

Growler-Sam Vincent

Kat's Boss-Brian Drummond


End file.
